Desiderius of Lombardy

Desiderius of Lombardy (717-786) was King of Lombardy from 756 to 774, succeeding Aistulf of Lombardy and preceding Charlemagne. He was the last king of the Lombards before the Carolingian Empire conquered him.

Biography
Desiderius was born in 717 to the House of Alachisling, a dynasty of Catholic Lombards. Desiderius married Ansia of Lombardy, and their daughter Desiderata married Emperor Charlemagne of Francia, an enemy of the Lombards. Desiderius was insulted when Charlemagne divorced his daughter in 771, and this led to war in 774. Charlemagne besieged the Lombard capital of Pavia, and Desiderius surrendered to the Franks. He went into exile and died in 786.